ALBANY — State employees are poised to be at their desks Tuesday, although it remained unclear if members of the New York City and Long Island workforce would be able to get into work.

With subways and other forms of mass transit closed due to Superstorm Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday afternoon ordered state offices in the greater New York City area to close. Workers joined legions of other downstate residents who were being urged to stay home in light of the violent and potentially dangerous storm.

But in the Capital Region and other upstate locations, work went on as planned — and then some, as personnel who provide direct services or disaster recovery braced for round-the-clock work.

The agency was coordinating the relief efforts that local highway crews, utility companies, police and emergency workers were providing as the storm made its way across the state.

Also joining in the effort were employees of the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, who on Monday evacuated disabled people from low-lying or otherwise flood-prone disability centers.

By Monday afternoon, workers at OPWDD had evacuated 869 people from 105 locations. Most were in New York City and Long Island, which bore the early brunt of the storm, although 11 people were moved from a site in Schoharie County.

Highway crews also remained on the job. In Ulster County, workers stayed out until nightfall to clear downed trees and other debris brought down by the storm.

Workers have been clearing debris from areas where it might wash down into streams or rivers. "Basically, they are removing anything floatable from the shoulders (of roads) and culverts," said Vigianni.

The importance of keeping storm water paths clear was driven home last year during tropical storm Irene and Lee when debris, sometimes consisting of sections of downed trees, clogged waterways and added to flooding problems.

Another precautionary move: securing road construction items such as the orange construction barrels used to guide traffic, which could turn into rubbery missiles in high winds.

While road workers labored, students and teachers in many instances came home early Monday.

Numerous schools, colleges and youth programs shut down early Monday with others planning to remain closed on Tuesday.

At least 25 SUNY campuses statewide canceled classes. Students and instructors were told to check campus websites as well as Twitter's @GenerationSUNY to keep abreast of schedules.

The New York City and Long Island state employees who were dismissed early would still be paid for the time. Otherwise, they would have needed to use leave or vacation time to cover the early dismissal.

While it wasn't immediately clear if non-essential state workers would all be called back to the job on Tuesday, one of their major unions, the Public Employees Federation, weighed in on the storm.

The union's leaders stated on its website that they were advocating to keep downstate offices closed until travel was safe.

In neighboring Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick decided on Sunday afternoon to keep the state offices closed on Monday.